Ship s berth



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

HENRY GETTY, OF BROOKLYN, NEV YORK.

SHIPS BERTI-I.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 18,044, dated k.August 25, 1857.

To aZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY GETTY, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Berths for State-Rooms of Steamboats and Sailing Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1, is a perspective view of a berth arranged after my invention. Fig. 2, an end View of the same as when in use. Fig. 3, a similar view of the same as when not in use. Figs. 4, and 5, detached face views of parts of the suspending and operating mechanism. Fig. 6, a partial front view, and vertical section of the berth.

Similar letters of reference in each of t-he several gures indicate corresponding parts.

My invention is designed especially for use on ship board where two things are very -essential in a berth, to wit:-a capability,

when in use, of maintaining a horizontal position no matter what may be the motion of the vessel, and when not in use of being turned up against the wall so as to be out of the way, and thus give increased space for moving around in small state rooms.

The nature of my invention consists in providing at each end or side of a state room of a steamer or vessel, a pivoted bracket which is capable of vibrating in the path of a circle a certain distance; and connecting the berth to said brackets through swinging, vertical, adjusting bumper rods, metal or rubber springs, and hollow standards as presently described. By this arrangement a berth is capable of being adjusted, when required for use, so as to swing clear of the wall, and to play or spring gently up and down, to a greater or less extent, according to the weight that is' to rest upon it and thus while it maintains a horizontal position, and has a free circulation of air back and front of it, it gently adjusts itself to the heavy pitching and heaving of the steamer or vessel. And when required for use in the day time can be move back so as not to stand out from the back of the state room; and if not used in the day time can be turned up against the back of the room, so as not occupy but a small portion of the space of the small state rooms allotted to passengers on board steamers and vessels.

'Io enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, represents a state room of a ship or steam boat., A, the berth, Z), b, hollow vertical standards at each end of the berth, c, c, semi-circular slotted guides or ways bolted fast to the ends or sides of the room A', (Z, eZ, the brackets also pivoted to the ends or sides of the room A', and swinging or vibrating in the path of a circle on the pivots e, c, in the slotted `guides or ways c, c, g, g, are vertical screw bumper rods passing down through the hollow standards o, and confined by Anuts t, t. These bumper rods extend up some distance beyond the top of the standards and are connected by pivots h., Z1., to the vibrating brackets (Z, d, t', t', Fig. 6, are spiral springs arranged over the rods in the hollow standards Z), Z), being confined between the fixed studs or tops of the standards and the screw nuts t, t, on the screw end of the rods g, g. These springs serve to overcome the disagreeable effect produced by the heavy heaving and pitching of the ship, they allowing the berth to yield as the stem or bow rises and falls. The power of these springs can be regulated by raising and lowering the nuts t, t, on the rods.

and f2 are sliding bolts for fastening the berth to the back of the stateroom when adjusted from the position shown in Fig. 'z2 to the position shown in Fig. 3; the bolts entering holes o, formed in the ends of the state room, and holding the berth up edgewise out of the way. Z, Z, Z, Z, represents a lacing for confining the bed clothes in the berth when it is thrown up edgewise against the back of the berth.

r, 1"', are cords, which pass over pulleys p, p, to move the berth in and out as required: by pulling the two upper cords 1', the berth is drawn in as in Fig. 2; by pulling the two lower ones r, the berth is drawn out and swings clear at the back as shown in Fig. l.

Operation: Ze will suppose the berth to be thrown up edgewise against the back of the room as shown in Fig. 3. Now to adjust it for use the bolts f', f2, must be withdrawn, when the berth by its own Weight and a slight force of the hand will assume the position shownv in Fig. l, in which position a free circulation of air back and front of it is secured, and it is used for night sleepingz-To get into it when thus adjusted, it must be temporarily confined by a hook as at said hook being withdrawn, and the berth allowed to swing, after the person has fairly got into the berth and arranged all things for a comfortable sleep. Suppose, again, the berth is desired for use in the daylight and when the water upon which the Vessel rides is calm, then if the berth occupies the position shown in Fig. l, the two upper cords must be pulled toward you, this will cause the berth to move the brackets d, CZ, in the path of a circle from the position shown in Figs. 2 and 5, when the berth is thus adjusted it rests against the back of the room as in Fig. 2, and is not capable of swinging on the pivot of the brackets, nor is there a chance for air to circulate behind it, but still it is out of the way to a greater extent than when adjusted for use at night. Suppose again that the berth is adjusted as when used for night sleeping and it is desired to adjust it so as to stand edgewise up against the back of the berth, the cords 1', 1, must be pulled outward, this will cause the berth to assume the position shown in Fig. 2, the berth must now be depressed at its front edge and forced inward until its bottom bears square against the back of the berth as shown in Fig. 3. A

"What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Providing at each end or side of a state room of a steamer or vessel, a pivoted bracket (Z, which is capable of Vibrating in the path of a circle a certain distance; and connecting the berth to said brackets through swinging vertical screw rods g, g, metal or rubber springs t, t, and hollow standards Z), 5, subi-- stantially as and for the purposes herein described.

HENRY GETTY.

Witnesses:

JOHN K. VEBB,

E. D. F os'rER. 

